Biological characteristics of 18 species seeds of Carex genera

An experiment was conducted to compare the biological characteristics of 18 species seeds of Carex genera growing at the Beijing mountain area, including introduction and domestication. The morphological characteristics, 1 000seed weight, germination rate were used to estimate Carex planiculmi, C. leiorhyncha, C. lanceolata, C. breviculmis, C. giraldiana, C. neurocarpa, C. heterolepis, C. arnelli, C. hancockiana, C. heterostachya, C. rigescen, C. jaluensis, C. remotiuscula, C. forficula, C. pediformis, C. pediformisect, and KT (Carex spp.). This study showed that difference in morphological characteristics, 1 000seeds weight, and germination rate was found among 18 species. The smallest seeds were C. neurocarpa, C. forficula and C. remotiuscula, and the biggest one was C. giraldiana with 3.3 g 1 000seed weight. The germination rate of KT, C. giraldiana, C. lanceolata and LY6 was 94%, 74%, 74% and 63%, respectively. The germination index of KT, C. leiorhyncha, LY6 and C. lanceolata was 90.27, 56.61, 48.71 and 48.11, respectively. The germination rate of C. hancockiana and C. jaluensis, C. forficula and C. heterolepis was 4%, 2%, 2% and 0.67%, respectively. The seeds of C. arnellii did not germinate during experimental period, and these results would not only provide scientific and basic information for identifying the C.species, understanding the germination characteristics of seeds, selecting good C.germplasm, and extending C.resource.